


Ashes to Ashes

by theretroprincess



Category: Dungeons and Dragons - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 03:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13425645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theretroprincess/pseuds/theretroprincess
Summary: The night before the battle, Kailen dreams.





	Ashes to Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my dungeons and dragons character. And since only my friends are gonna read this, hey buddies!

The night before the battle, Kailen tries to sleep. It's hard, considering that in a few hours, she'd be facing off against a whole party of liches.  
But here she was, in the room that Vox had provided for her. It wasn't too lavish, but still better than what she was used to. The huge bed dwarfed her tiny frame and it was in the centre that she found herself, at four am.

She thought of a lot of things, but mainly death. It loomed over her, the way it always did. It was immense and imposing, something she could barely comprehend, even though she'd experienced it twice. Her own death didn't worry her. At this point, her life was forfeit anyway.

She thought of the death of her friends.

She thought of Vox, crumbling in battle when the odds were insurmountable. All those people at Greyspire relied on him, their fearless and kind leader. In her mind, she witnessed the blow that felled him, the sickening crunch of bone beneath metal as his guardian armour buckled.

She thought of Sal, saving lives until there was only himself left to save. Thalia and the whole world looked to him, a shining beacon of hope in the dark. But now, he crawled through the mud, ash, the decay. Every breath got harder and harder as the very light that resides within him was extinguished.

She thought of Arielle, the best warrior she'd ever met. Reborn in flame and heralded as the next great champion of her house. But never cruel or cowardly, she always did the right thing. Even now as the bodies of her friends lay strewn around her feet, she strode, resplendent and burning, fueled not by honour, but vengeance and wrath.

She thought of Scout, one of her oldest friends. The undead that swarmed him were an easy challenge, until they weren't. He soon disappeared under the swell of corpses. The last thing she saw was him, shambling towards his boyfriend, arms outstretched and teeth gnashing.

She thought of Celagon and Therakus, fighting back to back, slinging arrows and spells, respectively. They were cracking jokes, the way they always did until Celagon went quiet. That was a rarity within itself and as Therakus spun to see his friend, the axe hit him too. They lay, bleeding and broken, their last words a careless thought.

She thought of Faust, the newest member of their party, strange but wonderful, doing wide circles in the air as his imp fought valiantly by his side. For him, it was almost too quick. A burst of flame and his body plummeted to the ground, bones cracking from the impact. A plume of black feathers and a crunch signalled his end. The dracolich took no prisoners.

And last but not least, she thought of Nay'marr. They had never gotten on anywhere but the battlefield, but this was different. She lay at Kailen's feet, body slick with dirt and blood, dark eyes staring off into the distance at the space where her father once stood. But it was not the lich that had ended her.

She awoke with a start, thick beads of sweat rolling down her face. Ragged breathes tore their way from her body as she lay in bed alone.

Snow fell on Neverwinter that day, the first in a thousand years. It was not the only thing to fall.


End file.
